Closing Ceremonies

I pull the bedclothes to my chin,
douse the light and wait.

A pause, and then it comes:
the dog’s soft spring
up into the space where humans sleep.

He circles—once, twice—
between my feet and hers,
settles over the usual spot,
and lowers his bones.

Coiled now, nose to tail,
he breathes a single, cleansing sigh,
and ends the day for all.